Thank you, that's very helpful. Here is an excerpt from a review where I read about the 1960 performance.
Listening to this version of Beethoven's Ninth on the turntable: MONO DGG tulip, first pressing from November 1962. I finally learned how to read deadwax codes on Deutsche Grammophon LPs. There are codes there denoting the month (represented by a letter) and year of the pressing (represented by a single-digit number). The month codes work as follows: A = January B = February C = March D = April E = May F = June G = July H = August J = September K = October L = November M = December (“I” is omitted for being to similar to “J”) The year is represented by a single digit, i.e. both 1955 and 1965 are the number “5”. So, my pressing has the code “L 2”, meaning November (L) 1962. This should once and for all allow you to date your German-pressed DG vinyl. P.S. It seems that after 1970, the year code became two-digit (“70”). The codes also seem to have been dropped altogether after 1972 or so.
Happy Holidays An einsamer Quelle (Beside the Spring; Op.9:II) Jascha Heifetz, violin with Árpád Sándor, piano Recorded: 27 March 1934 Abbey Road Studios, Studio 3, London, England Victor 14369 Released: August 1937
Now enjoying a recent Xmas gift from my girlfriend's brother. I have never heard these composers before, so the music is a treat. The composers are among the very first American composers. The CD is from the Smithsonian Folkways Archival series and can be bought on amazon.
Hi, George, A couple of other very early American composers who might repay your attention are William Billings and Anthony Philip Heinrich. Billings was a tanner in Boston, where he was born before the Revolution; Heinrich was a transplant from Bohemia who played a notable role in the founding of what would become the NYPO. Both wrote in extremely personal styles. William Schuman incorporated music by Billings into his "New England Triptych." Merry Christmas to you and to all our friends here at CMC!
I have the Karajan Beethoven 9th from 1962 on stereo SACD and agree it is a beautiful rendition. It is my favorite recording of the 9th.
Mine too! The slow movement on the 1977 version is a bit more coherent (the 1963 has a clumsy edit that breaks the line at one point), but the intensity on the 1963 is awesome.
Found this Monique Haas set for a reasonable price - it's OOP and quite pricey on most sites. A wonderful but sadly almost forgotten pianist.
Now enjoying another listen to this three CD set, this time from the big Serkin box. Although the 1960 Op. 110 in this set is the very best recording of that work that I have heard, I would suggest finding earlier recordings by the pianist (if/where available) of the other works.
I've been listening to some late Mischa Elman, from the two-box collection of his LP era recordings for Decca. So far, his account of Beethoven's "Spring" Sonata has caught my ear as a particularly lovely performance, warm and affectionate. His "Kreutzer," while certainly impassioned, still yields to my long-standing favorite, the Busch-Serkin recording from the '30s.
New member on the forum. Thanks for pointing out the "Collector's Choice" boxset and links to the reviews. Always looking for something different. Just ordered it!
Having seen the DVD last week, now listening to CD 2. I know that he was revered by many of his fellow pianists (including Gilels, Richter, Yudina and Neuhaus), but I often find myself struggling to hear what they must have heard. Not that I don't enjoy his playing, it's just that I find it inconsistent. At his best, like in the Chopin Scherzo 1 on CD2, he is impressive, but I find he is rarely at his best. At any rate, I will keep listening, for there was a time that I didn't "get" Richter, and with continued listens, he became my favorite pianist.
Besides the Scriabin I sent you I don't find Sofronitsky the ultimate performer for a lot of what he recorded. Shura Cherkassky is another I feel this way about though his fans can be quite vocal. I am skipping that Melodiya set for now as it's not very complete and duplicates a lot of material on the fine sounding Japanese Denon CDs. The Lili Kraus recommendation from the mega box thread made my best of 2017 Most satisfying album purchase of 2017? A happy new year to you and any other Corner readers!
Yeah, even his Scriabin has yet to wow me. So glad you enjoyed it as much as I do! Thanks, and a very happy new year to you as well!
Now enjoying the final disc in the big Serkin SONY box. I recalled enjoying this recording a lot less the first time I heard it, a few years ago, than I am now. Still, it's a decidedly unromantic reading of a romantic era composer and for me, not among my many favorites for this great work.